Sunshine Matters

While VISIT FLORIDA focuses the majority of our efforts on marketing the Sunshine State to visitors around the globe, we are also highly engaged at the national level through service on and participation in U.S. Department of Commerce and Brand USA efforts.

Travel and Tourism Advisory Board 

As a member of the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board for the U.S. Department of Commerce, I have the opportunity to provide insight on issues of importance to the Florida tourism industry to those with influence in the Federal government.   The Board has held two meetings in the last few weeks and I wanted to share an update on our activities. Our first meeting was held July 13 in Dearborn, Michigan at the Dearborn Inn and Henry Ford Museum.  The board’s subcommittees continue to build upon the body of work of the prior board while layering in elements of the new National Travel & Tourism Strategy.  These considerations and conversations were then carried to the August 1 White House Business Council Forum on American Economic Competitiveness with an initial focus on travel and tourism.  The gathering, the first in a series, was held between high-level Obama Administration officials and more than 40 U.S. travel industry leaders.  Administration officials participating in the event included:

• Gene Sperling, Director, National Economic Council, The White House
• Rebecca Blank, Acting Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Ken Salazar, Secretary, U.S. Department of Interior
• Tom Nides, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of State
• Ari Matusiak, Executive Director, White House Business Council, The White House
• Lisa Brown, Acting Chief Performance Officer, OMB
• Nicole Y. Lamb-Hale, Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Douglas Smith, Assistant Secretary for the Private Sector, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Patty Cogswell, Senior Director for Trans-Border Security, NSS
• Mark Doms, Chief Economist, U.S. Department of Commerce

Todd Davidson, the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board chairman and Travel Oregon’s Chief Executive Officer, said in his remarks that day, “The opportunity our industry affords our economy has never been greater or more necessary.”   Rossi Ralenkotter, National Chair of the U.S. Travel Association and President & CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, reported afterwards, “The gathering among Administration officials and industry leaders was a fluid conversation and an exchange of ideas on what is needed for the travel and tourism industry to increase market share and remain competitive.”

Brand USA

I and several members of VISIT FLORIDA staff have been actively engaged with Brand USA to move the start-up into a fully functioning destination marketing organization.  Operationally, they are focused on maximizing their match before the September 30, 2012 deadline for submitting contributions to draw down federal funds at the 2:1 level.  Priority is on in-kind contributions valued at 100% – providing $2 in federal funding for every $1 in valuation.  There are three options for VISIT FLORIDA’s industry Partners to quickly, and at little cost, maximize the match: contribute research; contribute photography, videos or B-roll; and put the Brand USA logo on websites and include it in marketing and advertising.  Information is available on the home page of the Brand USA website – www.thebrandusa.com – on how to activate any of these three options, or send an email with questions to Partnerships@TheBrandUSA.com.

Brand USA’s ongoing commitments are: transparency through responsiveness and collaboration with the industry and their government partners; marketing the USA as the world’s premier travel destination; and working with the Departments of State and Homeland Security to provide travelers vital information that inspires and makes it easier for them to explore all our country has to offer.  They report the new brand campaign is working – preliminary results show intent to visit has increased significantly in the launch markets (up 12% in the UK and up 14% in Japan).

Click on the following links for more information on the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board and Brand USA.